Russell Crowe has no regrets about turning down the role of Aragorn in THE LORD OF THE RINGS

In 2001, when the first in Peter Jackson’S The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released in theaters, actor Russell Crowe he was probably at the height of his stardom.

He had acted in films such as LA confidential, The infiltrator– for which he was nominated for his first Oscar, Gladiator– for which he won his first Oscar, and Proof of lifeand in 2001 he received his third nomination for his role in A brilliant mind.

He was very well known and, despite his personal life, in which he was seen as something of an asshole, he was at the top of his acting game. So it makes sense that the studio, New Line Cinemas, would be interested in Crowe for a part in the LOTR trilogy.

He was best suited for the rugged character of Aragorn, and executives passed his information to Jackson, who called the actor. Crowe eventually gave up on films, but recalled the interaction in a recent interview with British GQ (via Variety), in which he was asked if he had any Rings regrets:

“I actually don’t know. I had the feeling that it was the studio that made that decision, not the director. And I talked to Peter Jackson on the phone, and he wasn’t saying the kinds of things that directors tell you if they’re really trying to lure you into a project.

And I had the feeling that he already had something else in mind that he wanted to do. And me stepping up and saying yes would actually hinder him. We come from the same place.

So there’s a nuance to that conversation that other people might not hear – we’re both New Zealanders – in his own way without him saying anything negative, that he had another plan. So I left it like that.”

Jackson ended up doing the casting Viggo Mortensen in the iconic role. The director now returns to Middle-earth as a producer of a new film Lord of the Rings film to be directed by actor Gollum Andy Serkis.

The film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, is expected to be released in theaters in 2026. Would Mortensen return as Aragorn? It doesn’t seem contrary, but the story should make sense.

Mortensen recently told British GQ:

“I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard of it. Maybe I’ll hear about it sooner or later. I love playing that character. I learned a lot from playing the character. I liked it a lot.

I would only do it if I was right in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so on. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be foolish to do otherwise.”

Everything worked out for the best as far as Crowe and Mortensen were concerned. They both had great careers. If we see Mortensen back in the role of Aragorn, we’ll be lucky. If not, it simply wasn’t meant to happen.